Chicken Free Kibble

[Sharna3]

Hi All,

I have a giant breed puppy who has some kind of allergy ... we have tried cortizone tabs which work wonderfully but are not great for a growing pup; cortizone cream - very little help, oatmeal shampoos - no help, cortizone spray - bout the same as cortizone cream, antihistamines - little if any help.. The rash is on his belly, under his tail and in his ears but his feet are A-OK as is the rest of his body.

We are trying numerous things with the help of our fantastic vet but its seeming more and more likely the issue is a food allergy. When we first got him home, we tried him on chicken necks which he absolutely loved however the two times we tried him he ended up with bad diarrhea :-( So I am thinking possibly the allergy is chicken. Ergo, even though I am not planning on messing with his diet by doing any food elimination trials, I am trying to source a chicken free puppy food ....

Does anyone know of any brands that do a large breed puppy food without chicken?

Note: He's currently on EP Large Breed Puppy as its the least chickeny I could find so far.

[KitKat]

How old is he? You may be able to get away with going to an adult kibble, there are lamb or salmon varieties that may be worth a try. Also have you considered a wheat free kibble?

[Sharna3]

How old is he? You may be able to get away with going to an adult kibble, there are lamb or salmon varieties that may be worth a try. Also have you considered a wheat free kibble?

He's just gone 7mths old, and is gaining 1.2-1.8kgs a week still, so I don't think he's ready to switch to adult ... though that would solve lots of problems !! but my vet is very wary of messing with his food at this point. . . :-(

[stormie]

Oooh good luck with this one! Most kibbles use chicken or atleast chicken fat in their food. The EP Anchovy might not have any form of chicken though? I can't remember.

Ideally though, you'd be better off doing a proper food elimination diet. The Eukanuba F/P (fish and potato) Response is the only commercial hypoallergenic diet that is safe to use in pups, even Large and Giant pups. The Protein and Fat levels are similar to Eagle Pack Large/Giant puppy, as is the calcium/phosphorus ration. BUT, its based on white fish and potato, and the Eagle Pack range has fish meal in it, so it may not be a completely novel protein source but it's worth a shot.

Unfortunately though, the Euk Vet Range is out of stock due to a recall, so not something you'd be able to get for a while.

A lot of people may come in telling you to switch to raw, or remove grains, which may not be a bad thing, but not something I'd recommend doing for a large/giant pup.

I would probably suggest you look at seeking a referral for a Dermatologist though. They will be able to get you started on a process of elimination to help find the cause of the problems. Food allergies aren't really all that common, however in cases of itchy puppies, are more commonly the cause. But regardless of the stats, rather than spending money on different foods, supplements, shampoos etc, spend your money on a Dermatologist who will be able to give you a better diagnosis and sooner.

[KitKat]

I was offering the wheat free option as the Royal Canin GSD (adult and junior) is wheat free but is chook based- i can't think of any easily available puppy food that is chookless - as most will still contain chicken fat.

It might be worth scrolling through the various product sites to check the ingredients lists, note which ones don't have chicken/chicken fat in them and then see if you can source the food through local stores - some may be able to order in the more difficult to get foods.

[WreckitWhippet]

LOL I've been researching that all week and so far the only one I can come up with is the Eagle Pack anchovy and salmon.

[G.G]

I was offering the wheat free option as the Royal Canin GSD (adult and junior) is wheat free but is chook based- i can't think of any easily available puppy food that is chookless - as most will still contain chicken fat.

It might be worth scrolling through the various product sites to check the ingredients lists, note which ones don't have chicken/chicken fat in them and then see if you can source the food through local stores - some may be able to order in the more difficult to get foods.

Canidae Lamb & Rice Has no chicken wheat corn soy and no fillers and naturally preserved

Hope this helps

[rotts4ever]

He's just gone 7mths old, and is gaining 1.2-1.8kgs a week still, so I don't think he's ready to switch to adult ... though that would solve lots of problems !! but my vet is very wary of messing with his food at this point. . . :-(

A lot of breeders of Large/Giant breeds grow their puppies on adult food after they turn 6 or 7 months so swapping him to adult now wouldn't be a problem if you find an adult food that suits. All mine start to get swapped over to adult from about 7/ 8 months and are on total adult by about 9 or so months. I also add raw to their diets though and they have all done well. I've been lucky with good hips and elbows so far as well so their diet hasn't had any ill effects in that department.

Good luck with your boy

Cheers

[BMAK]

does your vet know whats causing the reaction??

try to test and eliminate as much as you can sometimes it can be multiple.

i have a friend who owns a border that has to have a special kibble thats fairly expensive through the vets because of her stomach i think she is allergic to certain foods/meats.

since you have a giant breed of dogs not to sure on when you swap them over to adult but i swapped my dogs (medium)over to adult at that stage as they were a healthy weight range and didnt need to put on any more puppy fat as they were filling out nicely.

i feed mine now raw diet and kibble Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach and salmon is the number one ingredient and im pretty safe with salmon being omega3 because my younger boy had always had trouble with his stomach.

you can always suppliment one meal perday from adult kibble with good fatty foods that will give him the energy and nutritions he needs for a growing pup if you feel he needs to put more weight on?

[Erny]

In the meantime, whilst you're trying to find the cause for the allergic reaction (good luck - I hope you manage to find it soon and without too much difficulty), try treating the affected areas of your dog's skin with an application of Calendula Tea. This is how I treated my boy with his skin issues whilst I worked through things much as you are, Missin Bastian, and in this way I was able to avoid the administration of drugs such as cortisone. I'm still working on and through my fella's health issues - they don't seem to be related to food allergy as much as they are likely to be related to something not functioning as it should. But all the same - I've avoided use of chemical drugs and know that at the worst, I still have them up my sleeve to turn to later down the track, if I really have to. And I was able to do that with the Calendula which had my boy going from being driven mad with itch from the hundreds and hundreds of hives that covered his body and were threatening infection, to a dog where the majority of the hives had reduced in size to at least half and no longer itched madly, inside 24 hours, with a further vast improvement after another couple of applications in the next 24 hours after that. Angry red rashes were reduced to pink and then to nothing in almost the same time frame.

The Calendula will not fix the cause, but it is something to do to help keep your dog comfortable in his skin until you can.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Erny

[ESCS]

I have just changed our dog to Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach as he has allergies. He had been eating a lot of chicken based food until I decided to eliminate chicken from his diet to see if it made any difference. He was a lot less itchy without chicken so I looked around for a kibble that was chicken free. Pro plan was one of the few that didn't have chicken in it. Eagle Pack was the other one but he didn't like it. He really loves the Pro Plan and I've noticed a big improvement in his condition. We supplement it with meaty bones, sardines, some yogurt and egg (every so often). I'm not sure if Pro Plan is considered a good quality kibble but so far it has worked for us and he eats it.

[Lab_Rat]

Hi Bastion, you may want to try a West Australian made kibble. Natural Balance is a Lamb based kibble and my girls have been on it for the past few years. Our ridgy has allergies to different meats, with chicken being one she really reacts to but does really well on NB.

I hope you find something for your poor dog!

[Sagittarian]

Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion contains no chicken product - it is more like EP "fishy" in that even its fat content is fish or plant based. Any retailer who deals with Aquatopia (a large Queensland wholesaler that specialises in aquarium based products) will be able to order it in.

Canidae Grain Free Salmon also has no chicken product at all, but it is higher in protein and fat than grain based foods so that needs to be considered as well.

Sags

[Odin-Genie]

One of my dogs can't digest chicken either. I feed him EP Holistic Select Anchovy formula which doesn't have any chicken or chicken fat. I'm going to try the Canidae Grain Free Salmon Formula as well, which is also chicken free.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Odin-Genie

[~Anne~]

Oooh good luck with this one! Most kibbles use chicken or atleast chicken fat in their food. The EP Anchovy might not have any form of chicken though? I can't remember.

Yes, agree with this. The greater majority of kibbles use, at the very least, chicken fat for flavour.

[Clyde]

LOL I've been researching that all week and so far the only one I can come up with is the Eagle Pack anchovy and salmon.

That's what I feed my dogs, one of them used to have terrible skin but showed improvement on that EP after about 2 months.

[Sharna3]

Canidae Lamb & Rice Has no chicken wheat corn soy and no fillers and naturally preserved

Hope this helps

Thanks, will certainly check it out.

A lot of breeders of Large/Giant breeds grow their puppies on adult food after they turn 6 or 7 months so swapping him to adult now wouldn't be a problem if you find an adult food that suits. All mine start to get swapped over to adult from about 7/ 8 months and are on total adult by about 9 or so months. I also add raw to their diets though and they have all done well. I've been lucky with good hips and elbows so far as well so their diet hasn't had any ill effects in that department.

Good luck with your boy

Cheers

Our vet came to the same conclusion - she thinks that the risks or downsides of taking him off puppy food already is much less than the posssible side effects from cortizone. I have to agree so this is what we are going to try now. She's suggested Hill z/d or Royal Canine Hypoallergenic ...

In the meantime, whilst you're trying to find the cause for the allergic reaction (good luck - I hope you manage to find it soon and without too much difficulty), try treating the affected areas of your dog's skin with an application of Calendula Tea. This is how I treated my boy with his skin issues whilst I worked through things much as you are, Missin Bastian, and in this way I was able to avoid the administration of drugs such as cortisone. I'm still working on and through my fella's health issues - they don't seem to be related to food allergy as much as they are likely to be related to something not functioning as it should. But all the same - I've avoided use of chemical drugs and know that at the worst, I still have them up my sleeve to turn to later down the track, if I really have to. And I was able to do that with the Calendula which had my boy going from being driven mad with itch from the hundreds and hundreds of hives that covered his body and were threatening infection, to a dog where the majority of the hives had reduced in size to at least half and no longer itched madly, inside 24 hours, with a further vast improvement after another couple of applications in the next 24 hours after that. Angry red rashes were reduced to pink and then to nothing in almost the same time frame.

The Calendula will not fix the cause, but it is something to do to help keep your dog comfortable in his skin until you can.

Hi Erny, we have already been down this road and (typically!) Harley hates it, refused to let us put it on him a second time ..

One of my dogs can't digest chicken either. I feed him EP Holistic Select Anchovy formula which doesn't have any chicken or chicken fat. I'm going to try the Canidae Grain Free Salmon Formula as well, which is also chicken free.

I'm definitely going to look into these , I figure that as the vet said at least then we can hopefully identify or cross it out as a food allergy... last step is the Dermatologist, but the vets quoted us $500-$1000 for the visit...

[KitKat]

I can't remember if it has already been suggested (or if i already suggested it!) - but ProPlan is readily available and is based on salmon - so a novel protein source, they also have a lamb and rice version.

[Sharna3]

I can't remember if it has already been suggested (or if i already suggested it!) - but ProPlan is readily available and is based on salmon - so a novel protein source, they also have a lamb and rice version.

Is it chicken free??

[KitKat]

From memory it doesn't even include chicken fat